Tiny Fragments
by Trins xxx
Summary: Even though the team has been decided, Coach Don McIntyre still has a feeling of impending storm. He looks across at the chosen girls, the five that could make history if they were part of one incredible team but right now, all he sees are the fragments of the team they could be. 'Don't suppose you have a cure for being a teenage girl' he asks, only partially joking. [Season 3 ]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own MIOBI...I'm sure it would be a completely different show if I did.

**Author's Note****: **So this is a partially canon fic, with a bit of a rewrite of the series finale and kicking off with what needs to be done to make a successful team. It's a lot longer than my intentions but I need it all there, to set up future character interactions and storylines. Anyway, hope you guys like it.

**Read and review****: **Each review makes me a better writer so drop a line and tell me how I can improve it.

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Tiny fragments

_Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed._

Khalil Gibrain

Coach McIntyre took a deep breath in, squaring his shoulders with the ominous feeling of a brewing storm. He glanced at the retreating back of the last girl before he made his way towards the stairs. The girls had been dismissed and it was now time for potentially one of the biggest decisions he had to make, definitely as far as women's gymnastics were concerned, and despite his outward facade of confidence, he had misgivings.

He took the steps two at a time, trying to outrun his concerns with dubious result. Nodding politely to Marcus and Regina, he sat down with the list of ten names ready to be discussed, waiting for the assistant coaches to arrive.

'Shall we start?'

Dondré McIntyre found his eyebrows moving upwards but he gave no other outward sign of his opinion at Regina's presumptuousness to start the meeting, not to mention her brusque manner. It was Marcus that replied.

'Aren't we waiting for the assistant coaches? Their opinions are normally very helpful.' His eyes briefly met Marcus', forging a bond, a thread of kinship between them this time. Regina's aims focussed solely on medals, _gold_ medals, with little interest in the human factor. Marcus, on the other hand, had gotten to know the girls very well, keeping a watchful eye on not only their gymnastics but also themselves, as people, as girls who were barely the age of young adults. And for Marcus, it wasn't just about the medals or the individual gymnastics skills; it was also about ensuring the girls reached their potentials and formed a team to inspire young girls and future generations.

'Hi, sorry we're late,' apologised Julia, a pretty, tall blonde who was on the other side of thirty but looked much younger. She never reached international status but had maintained a relatively low-key national career well into her twenties.

Christine slipped in behind her, muttering her own apologies before taking a seat at the round table, opposite to the whiteboard at the head.

'Mind telling us what delayed you?' Regina's tone was just polite enough to get away with it, but regardless, Marcus could see Christine's eyebrows shoot up and Dondré's own lips thinned.

'Just reassuring some of the girls and double checking that we didn't miss any injuries,' Julia's replies were smooth. Don could take a stab at which girl or girls they might have had to reassure but he kept quiet. It would be discussed ad nauseum during the meeting anyway.

'Which girls-' started Regina, only to be cut off by Marcus.

'We can discuss it during the meeting. Why don't we just start it?' It wasn't a question; his tone held too much authority and fortunately for Don's sanity, Regina finally lapsed into silence, not without a pout.

'Let's start with Kaylie. I would rank her as number one.' Regina took the lead.

'There's just the question of banned substances found in her urine test,' Dondré leaned back in his chair.

'Which should be out of her system by the time she's in London,' Regina argued back. 'Look, I know there's a zero tolerance policy, but she's a candidate for Team and All-Around gold, not to mention she could easily get a gold on Floor and medal in Beam, vault and maybe even bars.'

'On a good day,' Christine interrupted, causing all eyes to turn on her. She continued, unfazed, 'Her consistency is improving but psychologically, she just isn't as strong as the others. Her boyfriend breaks up with her and she nearly breaks her back on vault during practice. We find banned substances in her urine and her parents and friends fight more for her to remain on the team than she does. She just doesn't seem to have the same passion or drive or...tenacity, as many of the other girls.'

'And her routines have remained the same throughout the competition. She hasn't changed her floor routine, despite advice to the contrary; her bars have been static, and her performance has been variable. When she hits it, she hits it with a bang but when she doesn't,' Don leaned back in his chair, thinking carefully before finishing his sentence. 'When she doesn't hit her routine or has a fall, she doesn't recover.'

'She still has the highest DOD of all of the girls on almost every apparatus,' Regina retorted.

'Not on balance beam – Lauren's got her beat on Beam and Jordan's got her beat on bars and vault. Payson has a lower DOD but her execution is higher and she scores higher than Kaylie at least half of time. And Wendy's nearly as good as her in terms of All Around chances,' Julia added quietly.

'What about Wendy Capshaw?' Marcus questioned.

'She should be in,' Regina said decisively, her eyes already moving onto somebody else's photo.

'Her teamwork doesn't appear to be strong,' Don said, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. 'She doesn't appear close to any of the girls and doesn't tend to give constructive advice. If anything, she seems to sometimes undermine them.'

'It's rather a character flaw, isn't it?' Marcus leaned forward. 'Is she likely to destroy team dynamics if we add her on the team?'

'The other girls should be strong enough mentally to handle her, and she could be an effective weapon against the Chinese and Russians,' Regina interposed.

'They should be able to count on their team members for support, not for sabotage,' Christine snapped back.

'Her DOD and medalling chances are high enough to warrant a place on the team, regardless of anything else.' Regina was starting to give him a headache and they were only discussing the second girl, Don mused, rubbing his forehead with frustration.

'Fine, let's keep her as a possibility.' He pushed on as Regina opened her mouth to argue. 'Lauren Tanner.'

'Out,' Regina's response came with a derisive snort. Don was pretty sure that his left eyebrow was now twitching uncontrollably. Maybe it was because Lauren had somehow become one of his favourites but regardless...

'She's got a gold-worthy beam, a reliable vault, bars and floor routines that keep improving; it's foolish to kick her out of the possibilities.' Julia's voice sounded surprising fiery, almost passionate, as she spoke and Don wondered what had happened there, whether they had bonded somehow, over something, but he focussed him mind back on to track.

'She _had_ all those things. She only showed us her beam and it was a watered down version.'

'She's just had surgery, Regina,' Marcus began but she cut him off.

'Exactly,' Regina replied. 'She's just had surgery, we're not sure if she's fully recovered yet and she's behind on the training compared to the other girls. It might be foolish to keep her off the team – I'm willing to have her as an alternative – but it's also foolish to give her a spot on the team. We have no way of knowing if she'll be competition ready for the Olympics by the time it starts.'

He hated her for being right. Lauren was one of his favourites – he was willing to admit to it – but he didn't have any objective evidence to argue for her inclusion on the team. For now. Don had already had little discussions with her on what she needed to do and how to improve her routines, they'd already sent in a request to the FIG about her possible connected beam mount, the kind the world had never seen before, and she _was_ going to work on it. The second she was able to successfully do it at least half the time, he was going to have a word with all of the teams' co-ordinators and he was willing to bet that Regina would be the first one to petition her to be on the team. Well, sometimes you had to gamble to get what you want and Don was happy for Lauren to be his gamble.

'Now how about Payson Keeler?'

'Aren't we doing this the wrong way?' interjected Marcus. 'Instead of going through girls one by one, shouldn't we be looking at them in terms of who will be doing which apparatus, so we can choose the five best that will cover all four apparatuses?'

'He has a point,' Christine agreed.

Regina, nodding slowly, restarted the process, Don's pounding headache increasing by the second. 'Okay, let's start with vault. It's probably one of our weaker ones.'

'Jordan Randall.' Don spoke up immediately. Whether she did her specialist move or not, she was one of the best. 'Wendy Capshaw's good at it. For the lead on position, I'd probably recommend Andrea Conway. Lauren's not bad, Payson's about the same but she's stronger in the other three apparatuses. Beth Atchinson's good at it, but not as reliable as the others.'

'I'd add Kaylie Cruz to the list,' Regina added. 'So for vaults, we're thinking Andrea Conway for the lead on position, maybe Beth Atchinson or Kaylie Cruz, Jordan Randall and Wendy Capshaw.'

There was a murmur of agreements before they discussed uneven bars. Jordan Randall was again in the top four, along with Wendy Capshaw. Beth Atchinson and Andrea Conway were possibilities for the lead on position and the last spot was between Kaylie Cruz or Payson Keeler. Don couldn't fault the logic but he couldn't help thinking that Wendy could be detrimental to the team rather than a benefit.

Beam was more straightforward. Regardless of operation or not, Lauren Tanner was easily a contestant for the gold medal, and whilst training with her, Payson had come along in leaps and bounds, literally at times. Kaylie Cruz couldn't be discounted and Wendy Capshaw was great at it too. Andrea was also incredibly strong on the beam but Jordan and Beth were at similar levels, neither of them standing out. And for floor, Payson was clearly the stand-out gymnast. Regina argued for Wendy and Kaylie, who were both of a similar level. Don argued for Lauren, who could surpass both Wendy and Kaylie, especially with the changes made whilst at the OTC; Regina argued for Beth, who often rivalled Wendy's performances on floor.

After much discussion, it had been decided that Kaylie and Wendy would be the all around hopes, Jordan included for her strengths in vault and bars, Payson and Lauren included for their strengths on floor and beam.

'Except Kaylie's failed the drug test,' Don tiredly rubbed his eyes. What was the point of wishful thinking if there was no legal way that they could include Kaylie on the team? Without Kaylie, there would only be two true strengths on vault and bars and a major weakness on all around. Andrea was the best possible replacement but her strengths on floor meant that Lauren was redundant there and could they afford a gymnast who was necessary for only one apparatus? 'Jordan's in for her strengths on bars and vault, Wendy's in as all around, Andrea is probably the next best option for all around but her strengths include beam and bars, less so vault. If we keep Payson in, she would add some depth to vault and bars, floor definitely and beam. But Lauren...' He sighed, hating to say it. 'Lauren would be most useful for beam but Beth Atchinson could be used on floor, vault and bars if needed.' He hated saying it but without Kaylie, it made most sense to take Wendy, Andrea, Jordan, Payson and Beth, with Lauren as a travelling alternate.

It was at that serendipitous point that after a flurry of knocks, Lauren pre-emptively entered the room. Fidgeting a little under the agape stares of all the members in the room, she blurted out, 'Kaylie didn't do it, Wendy did.'

'What?' Regina snapped, one eyebrow nastily raised and disbelief colliding with displeasure on her face. She knew all about Lauren's little stunt and even if Marcus had forgiven her, she hadn't.

'I've got the receipts, the online ones I mean. Wendy ordered cough medicine containing pseudoephedrine,' she ended a little breathlessly, her eyes lasering at each of theirs, demanding a response.

Don was the first, grasping the receipt and scrutinising it. 'It's true. She ordered the medications,' he gazed briefly at Christine and Julia before handing the receipt over to Marcus and Regina for their inspection. 'But we don't know that she gave it to Kaylie.'

'What?' Lauren's face was aghast with a hint of betrayal flashing crossing her face. She turned beseeching eyes to Julia.

'We should check her belongings,' Julia said slowly. 'These are grounds for not just disqualification from the team but potentially criminal proceedings,' she weighed each word carefully, never losing eye contact with Lauren and the first to see the gratitude and something akin to relief wash over her face.

'I'll get onto it,' Lauren had chirpily said, turning around before she was halted.

'No, you're not to have any further involvement in this,' Don had said forcefully. 'We need someone impartial –' He frowned at her attempt to interrupt before continuing, 'And _you_ need to stay out of it to protect your own chances of making the team.'

Sulkily, she had sat down as the adults exited the room. A hurried, whispered conversation later, they had agreed. They would have to look through each and every girl's rooms and belongings, to ensure there was no further foul play. It hadn't been missed that few of the girls had bonded with Wendy and there was a chance that this was more of an attack on Wendy than defence of Kaylie, although Don personally doubted that.

Once the girls were in the room and supervised by Marcus for impartiality (Regina had insisted it shouldn't be anyone with much personal exposure to the girls and Marcus had swiftly volunteered, very conscious of the fact that none of the girls got along with Regina), the other adults had started checking through the belongings, starting with gym bags for ease. They did it as duos for added impartiality in the proceedings and it wasn't long before, starting with Wendy's bag, Don had uttered an exclamation. Having gone through the bag, Regina had had the foresight to go through her make-up too, leading to the discovery that the alleged strawberry lip balm held a white powder instead. For thoroughness, they went through the rest of the bags too, with several eyebrows raised at the number of texts Lauren's phone had received from someone entitled 'Wrestling Loser'. It was the first time Don had seen Regina's lips twitch into a smile and he wasn't sure if this was something to be in awe of or afraid of. He was leaning towards the latter.

They made their way back into the office gravely, entering it to find it a din of barbed insults and adolescent spite. Clearing his throat, Don elected to speak. 'As you may know, some banned substances were found in Kaylie's urine,' he nodded at her as she shrank back into her chair further. 'We have also found evidence that these banned substances were bought by someone else and given to Kaylie without her knowing about it,' his eyes found Wendy now, with panic and horror spreading across her face like a nasty rash, confirming the truth. 'Wendy Capshaw has accordingly been disqualified for her behaviour and we will discuss more fully with the NGO about what actions we need to take.

There was a stunned silence at his announcement and then Wendy broke into tears. 'It's _you_, it's all your fault, you fat, lazy _cripple_,' she spat at Lauren. 'Just because you can't make the team on your own talent, you have to sabotage everyone else.'

The adults awoke from their stupor but before they could say anything, Lauren had retorted, 'Actually, if _I_ were the one worried about _my_ place on the team, I'd be the one that's doing the drugging, but that was you, so I guess you were the one worried about how talentless you were and worried you'd crack under the pressure, huh?' Lauren's words were barbed but it was plain for everyone to see that underneath the make-up, she had gone pale, fists clenched tightly at her sides.

'Wendy, please leave,' Regina's icy tone held no room for argument as she escorted the weeping girl out of the room. Returning, she asked the girls to return to the waiting room as they made their final decisions.

'What a headache,' Regina sighed as she dropped in her chair.

'Told you about teamwork,' Julia muttered, scowling. 'Back to the drawing board. Kaylie for all around?'

'Maybe,' Regina said uncertainly, glancing at the two assistant coaches. 'I saw what you meant when you said she didn't have as much _drive_ or passion as the other girls. Floor and beam are definitely Payson and Lauren. Jordan would do vault and bars. If we include Andrea Conway, she's strong on beam, vault and bars. If we include Kaylie, she's strong on floor and could be counted on vault and bars; if we include Beth, she's the same, maybe a little stronger on beam, a little weaker on bars.'

'Kaylie has more international experience but,' Don paused thoughtfully. 'But if she doesn't make the team, there's a strong chance that she'll fall apart whereas if Beth's the travelling alternative, she can still be counted on.'

They announced it to a room full of ashen faces, most of the girls still horrified at what Wendy had done. 'The five team members of the USA Women's Gymnastics Team are Andrea Conway, Kaylie Cruz, Payson Keeler, Jordan Randall and Lauren Tanner. The travelling alternate is Beth Atchinson,' he smiled at hearing the little gymnast squeak. 'And the two non-travelling alternates are Colleen Evans and Kristen Henneford.'

The feeling of impending storm hadn't gone away with the decision, Don thought, as he looked at all of the girls. The most disbarring reaction was Lauren's; instead of jumping with joy – or showing any joy at all – her frown had just settled more and she had looked more like she had been given bad news than good. Payson was clearly worried about her as she shrugged off her questions and concerns and he'd made a move to talk to her but Julia was there before him.

He sighed. It felt like the climb up the mountain was just beginning. With the men in the past, the team captain would have been obvious by now and each individual would know their role, their part to play. With this team, he was already worried about two members not having their hearts, literal and metaphorical, in it, and he was more worried that choosing a team captain would unbalance the team than add some much needed security.

His eyes caught Marcus' again, seeing a reflection of his worries before the NGO official made his way to his side. 'Don't worry, Don,' there was a ghost of a smile on his face. 'Welcome to Women's Gymnastics.' Patting him briefly on the back, he added, 'There's a lot of work that needs to be done but I know you're the man for it. And we'll meet later this evening – dinner? – to discuss what we need to work on.' Their eyes flitted briefly from Kaylie Cruz, looking shell-shocked more than happy, to Lauren Tanner, who looked angry, having a hushed discussion with Julia.

'Don't suppose you know a cure for being a teenage girl do you?' Coach Don asked, only partially joking as Marcus chuckled next to him.

'Don't worry, you'll figure it out,' he turned a sly smile on him. 'Besides, you've always got your gorgeous wife for advice.'

Yeah, there was a hell of a lot of work to be done before the Olympics, and just for tonight, Coach Dondré McIntyre decided he would have a nice strong drink, maybe whiskey, before tackling each and every problem to make this team the most inspiring one USA has seen so far. He saw it in the raw material in front of his eyes – the talent these girls had, the passion and the need for perfection – it was all here, it just needed to meld together.

And that's what he was for – to make sure they melded together the way _they_ needed to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****: **I don't own Make It Or Break It.

**Author's Note****: **This chapter took forever - but I know what direction I want it to take though. However, for the time being, I am going to focus on The Long Way Home, rather than this story, so it's on hiatus (although I know where I want this to go, and I will be returning to it at some point). Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy it. Do tell me what you think of it - particularly the second half. I struggled with it.

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Tiny Fragments

_The modern work of art, as I have said, is a symbol._

Herbert Read

'You sure you don't mind?'

Annie didn't withhold the roll of her eyes or made it subtle. 'I'm _sure_ I don't mind. And I was sure I didn't mind the last ten times you asked me as well. It might boggle your mind but I am capable of miraculously creating food to feed one extra person.' She pecks him lightly on the lips, easing the sting of her words.

'Yes, ma'am,' he retorts with faux meekness, a grin peeking out despite his best intentions. He escapes to the dining table before she has time to react and he's angelically setting plates on the table. He flutters his eyelashes at her smirk but they let things be. All things considered, the last few weeks had been stressful and tonight was a chance to relax. It would've been nice for it to be just the two of them but Marcus had slowly developed from an acquaintance to a friend and Annie honestly wasn't too bothered by him joining them for dinner. _As long as he didn't join them for the after-dinner activities_, she thought, another smirk lifting her lips.

They sat down to a delicious dinner, rich in nutrients (the nutritionist in Annie would tolerate no less) but with slabs of tasty meat that both men appreciated. Red wine added to the ambience and Annie was already enjoying her second glass when the men finally started talking shop.

'So, do you have any preferences for captaincy yet?' Marcus finally asked, after the teasing about his bachelorhood had died down.

Annie leant forward with interest. She had gotten to know the girls fairly well but Wendy's actions had still taken her by surprise. The niggling nugget of guilt for supplying her with the list of prohibited substances remained and she knew she had to talk to Don sooner or later, own up to her lapse of judgment and role in the brewing controversy but tonight wasn't the night for it.

'Jordan's got enough on her plate,' Marcus nods as Don speaks. There was more than one controversy even before the Olympics this year, and this one was probably the most devastating. 'And whilst Lauren does have the capacity to be a good leader, I think she needs to focus on herself right now.'

'What about Kaylie?' Marcus asked as both men turned towards Annie.

'Well, there's no evidence of her eating disorder taking control,' she said, unused to having weight on these sorts of conversations. 'But still... She still seems pretty shaken up with everything that's happened.'

Marcus didn't seem all that pleased with her analysis but nor did he demur. 'Which leaves Payson and Andrea. What's your gut instinct telling you?'

'Both are mature, both have had medical problems in the past but a relatively straightforward run this past few months. They're both generally by-the-books. There's very little to choose between them.'

'Have you asked the girls who they'd prefer?' Annie watched with curiosity as both men suddenly stilled, glancing at each other over a pregnant pause.

'I think all things considered, the girls aren't the best suited for such decisions right now,' Marcus finally answered her, lips twitching with emotion.

'And all things considered, I think I'm ready for some pie,' her every-so-charming husband gave her a wide grin, changing the topic with dexterity.

It was with a mouthful of his second slice of pie that Don spoke again. 'This is the stuff that makes me _so glad_ I'm not a professional athlete anymore.' It was now Annie's turn to catch Marcus' eyes as they both grinned, hiding it with a delicious mouthful of their own.

'We've been discussing who should coach the girls in London,' Marcus' tone was neutral, so much so that Don turned his attention away from his dessert to the man and Annie's ears twitched,

'Sasha Belov?' Don hazarded a guess, his tone equally neutral and for a moment, Annie thought Marcus' face looked conflicted.

'Well, it would be a benefit that he's trained half of the girls and they're familiar with him. And he is a good coach but,' he let out a loud breath. 'Well, he did kiss Payson and I'm not sure Jordan would respond well to that.'

'Wait, what?' Annie's question dripped with horror.

'It was innocent. It was actually Payson who kissed him and he acted completely appropriately,' Marcus shifted uncomfortably. 'If anything, it was certain members of the NGO that were not quite so ethical with their approach.'

'And you're sure about all this?' Don's eyes held steel. During that time, he had been involved with men's gymnastics and though he had heard a few rumours, much of it had been speculation and he had never been one to go by speculation. The fact that such a thing _had_ occurred and with Jordan's abuse weighing heavily on everybody, he wanted to be entirely certain that none of the other _children_ (for how grown up were they really?) were in any position to be hurt.

'Yes, absolutely,' Marcus nodded curtly. 'You can check with Payson if you want. Or Lauren, for that matter,' again, his eyes hardened before softening again. He wasn't entirely sure if Payson was aware of Lauren's involvement but for all that Lauren schemed and plotted and planned, she did it with a certain air of blatancy and tended to wear her emotions for all to see.

'Lauren?' Don asked questioningly as his wife snorted on the left of him.

'Man, I don't miss my teenage years,' she couldn't help the shudder that ran through her. She was stared at by two wide-eyed blank faces.

'I think I'd rather not know,' Don mutters and Marcus full-heartedly agreed,

'We were actually wondering about you, Don,' Marcus said, focusing on the appetising pie.

'Me?' Don would like to think that he said it in his usual deep and ever so manly baritone, but he's aware that it sounded suspiciously akin to a squeak. Fortunately, his dark skin tone prevented any overt signs of the warmth in his cheeks. Clearing his throat, he continued, his voice now actually back to its usual baritone. 'You know this was the first time I've ever coached women's gymnastics and it was on a trial basis. The Olympics is a whole other ball game.'

'You've done a great job with the girls,' Marcus smiled at the genuine doubt and hesitancy on his friend's face. 'And with all the… _drama_,' he said delicately. 'Well, a little consistency might be what's best for the girls.'

'And do you honestly think the girls' won't want you as their coach?' Annie chimed in enthusiastically. 'You've never shown favouritism and you've been supportive of all of them. We can always ask them – I'm sure they'd love to have you continue as their coach.'

The choice of words wasn't lost on Marcus and briefly, he wondered who Don's favourites were, before dismissing it as irrelevant. The fact that he didn't know said more about Don's professionalism and talent than the impossibility of _not_ having a friend, regardless of idealism.

'It's decided then,' Marcus' smile was Cheshire-like. 'We'll ask the girls tomorrow before they head home.' He returned to the pie with gusto.

* * *

'Lauren!' Payson stormed into the room, checked herself at the sight and then continued on regardless, channelling her inner Lauren. 'What's going on?' She demanded, arms crossed; She tried cocking her hip to one side, the way Lauren did with so much attitude but it felt weird and wrong and she quickly resumed her usual stance.

'Hello to you too, Pay,' Lauren rolled her eyes melodramatically, glowering at her fellow blonde, before turning it on the dark skinned boy in front of her and finally rested it on her plate of food, stabbing at it viciously with her fork.

'Right?' Payson drawled. 'Because the food has obviously offended you. Jake, what's going on?' She abruptly turned her eyes onto him.

'I was hoping you could tell me,' he shrugged. 'She's treating the food like it's Wendy The Bitch.'

Payson raised her eyebrows but wondered why she was surprised that Lauren had told him about Wendy. Instead, she was now surprised why she hadn't told him what was bothering her. 'Well, I'm sticking around until you tell us what's going on?' She grabbed a nearby chair and plonked herself down as gracelessly as she was graceful on the floor.

'What about _lover boy_? Won't Rigo be missing you?'

'This is more important,' Payson retorted, jutting a stubborn chin and finally breaking Lauren's resolve.

'Fine. If you _must _know, I wasn't on the team,' she all but spat at them, forcing her traitorously watering eyes to stare at her plate.

'Er... Lauren, you _know_ they called your name out, right?' Payson and Jake shared a mystified look.

'Before Wendy,' Lauren explained around the painful stricture in her throat. 'I wasn't on the team list, before Wendy.'

There was a silence as they absorbed what she had said, Jake looking ready to wrestle anyone or anything to the ground, and _not_ within the rulebooks.

'But that's great!'

The statement was shocking enough to grab Laure's attention. She found herself with her mouth literally open, staring at the blonde as if she had suddenly lost the ability to do a simple cartwheel.

'Think about it,' gushed the taller blonde, leaning forward over the table in her enthusiasm. 'You're the new Emily Kmetko.' Lauren thought it might have been infinitely better to have just _died_ from her stupid heart condition. 'In a good way, I mean. Like everybody is going to underestimate you and can't you wait to see their faces when you show them the upgrades you've got planned?'

Lauren finally found her familiar smirk. It was possibly the only good thing about being underestimated – shoving it in their faces when they were blown away. And for Payson to look at it like that was clearly her influence at work. She felt a smile cross her face, full of glee and she felt lighter. 'I do like the way you think,' she agreed.

'So was that it?' Payson's incredulous tone matched her face. 'You got all _emo_ and _morose_ instead of all bitchy and vengeful because even though you're on the team now, you weren't initially?'

'Morose?' Jake asked, eyes wide as Lauren sniggered. 'Besides, it was clearly a plot to lull them into a false sense of security before she snapped their heads off with her crazily flexible moves, like a gymnastic Jaws.'

'Oh please, if there were sharks around, they'd totally be scared of me. I'd be the one ripping _their_ heads off.'

'Okay, well I'll call Rigo in,' Payson interrupted what would've developed into a saga.

'Er...Pay? You know Jake's made an abysmal attempt at cooking, right?'

'Luckily, I made extra just in case people dropped by.'

Lauren turned suspicious eyes from Jake's shit-eating grin to Payson's wide Bambi eyes. 'Did you guys collude together? Was this a collusion?' She demanded as Payson flushed red, spluttering a stuttering _something_ that Lauren couldn't be bothered to interpret. She wasn't sure whether it was a sign of innocence or guilt, and dismissed it as unimportant anyway. 'Fine, whatever, the more the merrier.'

'Well, why don't we take it to my room then?' Jake suggested, smiling easily.

'Ooh, aren't we kinky. I didn't know that was your sorta thing,' Lauren wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, a sly smile tipping her lips and dripping seduction as Jake tried to work out whether to disclaim or encourage such thoughts. He was saved by an 'ew' from Payson's disappearing form, leaving a considerably more cheerful sniggering Lauren.

Lauren's smile made her look young, her (attempted) arch look made her look carefree, and it's the juxtaposition of Lauren Tanner on the gymnastics mat and the glittering, sparkling bubble of joy in front of him that had held Jake's attention, that had the chemistry simmering and the attraction building up. There's a large part of him that wanted to kiss Lauren Tanner in all her faceted beauty, wit and sharp-edged sarcasm. There was a much larger part of Jake that was scared to do anything to disrupt the brittle edge their friendship rests on, that wouldn't forgive himself for being responsible for any source of comfort and support Lauren might not have in this of all times. And he knows that, more than that, he would never forgive himself for losing Lauren Tanner in any capacity he can get her, so he allowed another opportunity to kiss Lauren Tanner away.

The dinner passed with lots of rude jokes (Lauren responsible for more than half), lots of surprisingly delicious but calorie-controlled food (thanks to Jake), lots of poorly hid narrowed glances (Payson trying to work out why Lauren and Jake weren't together and failing miserably) and feigned disgust covering a begrudging respect and gradual friendship between Rigo and Lauren. It was one of the best nights any of the youths had had and it filled them with an optimism that was not diminished by the sharing of it.

'To gold medals,' Jake finally proposed a toast, sharing a glance with Lauren that spoke volumes but not to Payson or Rigo. They repeated the toast, clinking glasses of sparkling water and there's a giddiness in the air, infecting each of them with a euphoria that keeps multiplying.

They called it a night later than they should and surprisingly enough, it's Lauren and Jake who do so. Payson and Rigo clung gently to each other, like a budding flower stuck to a window. Jake and Lauren walked slightly apart, overtly aware of the proximity and paradoxical distance. Somehow, there wasn't any discomfort and Lauren will wonder at it later. At the time, she merely enjoyed it, revelling in the warmth that has nothing to do with the weather. She'd never felt this way and she didn't have the words to describe it. Perhaps for the first time since she was six, she didn't try to. They said goodbye at the girls' dorm room, and Jake's smile lingered, as did his gaze. Lauren's did too, but she broke it with a hug that lasted a little too long to be platonic.

Payson and Lauren ended the day in a bittersweet high that not even Kaylie's scowl dented – Payson because she was oblivious, Lauren because, for once, she had better things (_people_) to think about.


End file.
